


Soon it's 20 years from now

by Darklingpda



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Abandonment, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:15:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24166462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darklingpda/pseuds/Darklingpda
Summary: The rain was like little pellets, hitting the ground like little daggers, making it harder and harder to focus on what he was typing. He stood there, on the side of the highway, with just a flimsy hoodie to protect him. He thought he could hear thunder in the distance, but perhaps that was just wishful thinking. He was staring at his phone, watching as Patton’s texts grew more worried.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders/Deceit | Janus Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Deceit Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders/Deceit Sanders
Comments: 25
Kudos: 176





	1. there's a warmth in the coldness of the room

The rain was like little pellets, hitting the ground like little daggers, making it harder and harder to focus on what he was typing. He stood there, on the side of the highway, with just a flimsy hoodie to protect him. He thought he could hear thunder in the distance, but perhaps that was just wishful thinking. He was staring at his phone, watching as Patton’s texts grew more worried.

‘Hey, didn’t see you at school today, you good?’ 4:00 pm.

“Virge? I'm in front of your house, where are you?” 5:00 pm.

‘Virgil, please, where are you?’ 7:00 pm.

That was 4 hours ago. He had written and rewritten and deleted thousands of responses since then. None were good enough. Finally, he sent a response.

‘Yeah, i’m good pat. Just… need a break.’

Well that was one way to describe it. Running away, is what he was doing. He couldn’t stand it anymore, the lingering glances, the snide comments, all of it. Worst of all, his thoughts. He wished they would go away, but they were the only thing he had left.

He looked up, took a deep breath, and kept going. Only 3 miles to go. Almost there. He walked for what seemed like hours, but was more likely only a couple minutes, his boots smacking against the asphalt soothing him, even as they caused water to splash onto his ankles.

He could remember the day before like it was yesterday. Well, it /was/ yesterday, but that’s beside the point. He could remember the fight, his parents sharp words slashing into his already damaged heart. His little brother standing off to the side, staying silent. The traitor. He remembered his dad’s exact words, the ones that made him snap.

“You might as well just leave, see if we care.” 

Well, leave he did. First thing in the morning, with nothing but his phone and his dad’s wallet he snatched, and only a smidgeon of an idea of where he was going. But that was enough. He felt a little guilty for leaving Patton with no explanation, but even that barely mattered. At least Patton would never have to worry about him again, if everything went according to plan.

He shuddered at that thought. Right. His plan. Well, technically plan b, as plan a was to end it all, but he was too much of a coward to go through with that.

The landscape surrounding him slowly changed from a clean cut highway, with cars passing by every so often, to a rough gravel path, barely wide enough for one car. Not that like there were any. The trees changed from being one small oak every once in a while to a looming forest, seemingly filled to the brim with secrets, daring him to find them out. But not today. He was here for another reason entirely. He could see the mansion in the distance, beckoning him. He wondered what they would say to him, what their reactions would be after all these years. A hint of a smile pulled at his cheeks as he thought of them, feeling slightly nostalgic. 

He could remember the way Remus would shout out his random “fun” facts out of nowhere, causing him to laugh hysterically while he and Janus fake-gagged. He could remember the way Janus would wake him up at 3:00 am to tell him his latest conspiracy theory, and he would nod along, still groggy with sleep, barely paying attention as he complianed that he needed to get back to sleep, even though both of them knew that he wouldn’t. And he could remember the way both of their faces looked when he left, heartbreak written out on Remus’s features while Janus hid his with a sneer, even though he would cry his heart out later, holding his old hoodie with an iron grip. He winced at that, brutally reminded of what happened.

The way his “parents” showed up at their doorstep, claiming him as their own, even though he’d never seen them in his entire life. The way his thoughts raced as if they were competing to be a NASCAR champion, the way he instantly believed them, he was such an idiot, not even questioning them. The way he unthinkingly went and packed his things, despite the bewildered looks of Remus and Janus. Now he could see that he was wrong. That they were wrong. He never should have left.

And now, as he approached the doorstep of the mansion, seemingly abandoned except for the small signs of three young boys living there their whole lives, if you knew where to look. It looked exactly the same, as if he never left. He lifted his soaked hand, hesitating for only a moment before ringing the doorbell, knocking their “secret” knock, and he listened as he heard two sets of footsteps ran down the stairs like a stampede of buffalo, throwing the door open, the hinges groaning in protest, it was a miracle they hadn’t broken by now.

He looked up into a pair of bright green eyes, suprise evident in his gaze. He took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he let his gaze wander over Remus’s body, taking in how much he had changed, no longer the scruffy little boy, now the punk almost-adult. He had sworn he heard someone else come down, but he stored that away to ask about later. For now, he had to try to get them to let him stay.

“I can explain.”


	2. Hug all ur friends

Remus’s answer? A door slammed in his face. He blinked for a second, before the reality of what happened hit him. Behind the door, Remus slid down, crying silently.

Virgil stood there, silent for a moment, before his hands started shaking. He hadn’t taking this option in consideration, and he was standing there in the pouring rain, his jacket sticking to his skin, and his boots getting filled with water. He needed to get inside.

“W- Wait! Remus please! I know I can’t just expect you to let me back into your life like nothing happened, but let me inside so I can explain! I’m soaked, my phone is almost dead, and I have nowhere else to go! Please… just… let me explain.” Virgil shouted through the door, his voice shaking. 

Remus stayed silent, listening to his old friends words through the door, tears running down his face. He couldn’t handle this at the moment, it was all so fast. One moment, he and Janus were upstairs, playing video games together, both of them trying to ignore the empty purple beanbag next to theirs, as they had ever since Virgil left, and the next, Virgil, skinny, bean pole, scaredy cat Virgil, was standing outside his door. He mentally reprimanded himself, and stood up slowly, opening the door much more carefully then he had the first time. He stared down at Virgil with a withering glare, and silently moved to the side to let him in.

“Welcome home, kleiner Schatten.” Remus said with a sarcastic slant in his voice. He watched silently as Virgil sat down in a chair at the old dinner table in the middle of the dining room, his eyes looking him up and down. He took the moment to take in how much he had changed, no longer the scrawny kid that always had a rug burn, or a cut somewhere on his body, just like Remus and Janus. He was now a slightly taller, still scrawny, emo teenager, his face almost sunken with how sad he looked, and sporting a black eye.

Remus sat down in the chair across from Virgil a little less silently, the chair creaking underneath his weight. He and Virgil just sat there, staring into each other's eyes, green to blue. Finally, Remus broke the silence with a cough.

“So, what brings you back?” Remus said, examining his black painted nails. It was all for show, he didn’t actually care about how his nails looked, he just wanted an excuse to look away from Virgil piercing, beautiful blue eyes.

Virgil took a deep, shaky breath before beginning to explain what happened. He had come home, sporting yet another injury from protecting his best friend, Patton, from bullies, and his “parents” snapped. They couldn’t ‘handle’ it anymore, they said. Said it ruined their perfect family image. They said he was a disgrace, worthless. Said they wouldn't have cared if he left. So he did. He left that night without a word, without a trace. No goodbye letter, nothing. (at least that’s what he said. He had, actually, left his little brother Logan with a star chart he had stolen from the gift shop during a field trip. Signed with a purple heart.)

Throughout the whole story, Remus’s expression changed drastically. It went from barely concealed anger, to surprise, to a sly grin, his eyes sparkling in excitement. He leaned back, his arms crossed in disbelief.

“I would’ve thought they would've beat the fight out of you. Guess I was wrong.” Remus said with an amused tone, a singular eyebrow rising up.

Virgil barked out a laugh, throwing his head back, and Remus could almost swear he saw it in slow motion. It was exactly the same and yet completely different from when they were younger, and somehow a lot prettier. Remus blushed lightly, looking away to try and hide it.

Virgil sighed in relief, wiping away tears in his eyes. “No, they tried. oh boy, they tried.” he said with a much lighter tone of voice then what you would assume would be attached to the sentence. Virgil lifted the side of his shirt, showing a thin scar. Virgil had a small smirk on his face, amusement shining in his eyes. “I even have the proof!”

Remus dropped his smile at the words, his eyes widening as he processed the scene in front of him. He leaned forward, tracing the scar with an almost dazed look on his face. Once he realized what he was doing, he snapped back, a much darker blush on his face. 

Virgil also blushed, and he coughed slightly, setting his shirt back down. “Well, um. Anyway!” he leaned back, looking around them with a mildly confused look on his face, “Hey, where’s jay?”

Almost as if summoned by Virgil’s words, Janus stepped out of the shadows, a thoughtful frown on his face. “So I see the apple can’t fall far from the tree before it’s launched back into its branches, eh?” he said with an even tone, chuckling lowly as he pulled a chair over, flipping in around before sitting on it backwards, the scar on his face looking just as fresh as when he fell onto the darned rock.

Virgil cracked a small smile at Janus’s words, a small glint of hope in his eyes. “I guess so.” he said softly, meeting Janus’s gaze equally as strong, subconsciously sucking in a breath as he looked deep into the mismatched eyes, blown away at how different they looked. More… weathered. No longer did he have the always-present smile tugging at his lips, instead there were small frown lines, ones that should’ve shown up much later in life. Instead of a vibrant glow in his eyes that should be in every budding young adult, the otherwise beautiful brown and green eyes were hollow, dull.

Remus shocked him out of his stupor with a push, causing him to almost fall out of his chair. He flung his arms out wildly, gripping the table harshly, knuckles white with the effort. He turned to Remus, a half-hearted glare in his eyes. “Dude, what the hell?” he snapped, his tone a lot softer than he intended. Remus just shrugged loosely, a playful smile on his stupidly handsome face. He had no right to be so pretty. Especially when he was trying to mad at him. Rude.

“Well, someone had to stop you from drowning in our Janus’s lovely eyes!” Remus chirped happily, barely holding back a giggle. In the background, Janus rolled his eyes so hard they might as well have fallen out of their sockets, trying in vain to hide his slight blush at the comment.

Speaking of which, this is exactly when he decided to rejoin the conversation. “Well, ANYWAYS, I was totally not eavesdropping and heard every word. So. you don't need to retell your tale, no matter how wonderfully dramatic it was, Virgil.” he said with a low, drawling tone, and despite what Janus would like to think, he knew that both Remus and Virgil would see right through his act, reading the softened truth. He didn’t hide in the shadows solely for the dark, mysterious, villain aesthetic, he did it because he was scared. Well, maybe just a little for the aesthetic. But mostly fear. He wanted to avoid the possibility of Virgil rejecting him again, no matter how improbable that was.

A small small tugged at the edge of Virgil’s lips at Janus’s words, but worry shone brightly in his eyes, a silent promise sent his way. They would talk about that later. But for now, it was time for catching up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> blep :P im back!!! hope i didn't leave you all hanging for /too/ long


	3. Quiet motions

They had gone to Remus’s room around 2 hours ago, and even though they felt as if they would drop at any moment, but the three of them couldn’t bring themselves to go to their separate rooms to sleep, too wrapped up in sharing what happened during the last 5 years away from each other, laughing together, and just laying together. They were now significantly closer to each other then they had been when they went upstairs, but they couldn’t care less, just wanting to stay together.

They had stopped talking around 20 minutes ago, and were now just laying on the bed, their limbs tangled together, the silence comforting, not awkward in slightest. They felt the most at home since Virgil left all those years ago, and they felt as if they could finally rest. Virgil made a half hearted attempt to get up, quickly pulled back down by Janus and Remus, and he made a weak sound of protest, which they all knew he didn’t mean. So they just stayed like this, curled into each other, and quickly they fell asleep. They could talk more tomorrow, but for now they were too exhausted.

The next morning, Virgil awoke to an empty, and he sat up, confused until he noticed he had a sticky note stuck to his forehead, and he let out a small, breathless giggle. He peeled it off quickly, turning it over with an excited grin on his face, filled with nostalgia. Remus would always stick a note onto a part of his body when he woke up, Virgil having always been the one to sleep until 10 am. He ran his gaze over Remus’s chicken scratch, nearly unintelligible unless you’re used to it.

He launched himself off the bed with the note, uncaring whether the blankets had flown off the bed with hurry, racing downstairs. Once he got there, he took in the familiar sticky scent of pancakes, the only thing that Remus could cook without burning the kitchen to the ground. Not much had changed during the past five years, virgil thought idly as he sat down on the table, his face light pink at the dazzling smile Remus sent his way from the kitchen, flipping it with ease while Janus rolled his eyes behind him, a soft smile on his face ruining the annoyed facade.

Virgil brushed his hair out of his face, closing his eyes and just taking in the warmth of it all, feeling the least tense he’s ever felt. He had missed this, the warm, safe, silence with the undertones of laughter and loud footsteps ringing through the too big house. He couldn’t even remember how they got here, his first memory being falling out of a tree with Remus’s faint cheers heard in the background. They had always been together, and they would continue to be together. It was only a matter of time before he came back, they were meant to be together. If Virgil believed in soulmates, he would say that they would be each other’s.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sajfdahsdjf I hope you enjoyed this!! i'm not really proud of the length of this chapter, but. what can you do.

**Author's Note:**

> adhgasdgfdhdj this is my first work!!!! all comments are appreciated, even the super short ones!


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